Emmanuela Gakidou

Biography

Emmanuela Gakidou, MSc, PhD, is Professor of Health Metrics Sciences and Senior Director of Organizational Development and Training at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington. She is also a Faculty Affiliate for the Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences at the University of Washington.

Dr. Gakidou’s research interests focus on impact evaluation, methods, and tools development for analytical challenges in global health. Examples of current research projects include the evaluation of community-based interventions to improve non-communicable disease management in underserved populations, the assessment of facility efficiency in the provision of health services, and the measurement of poverty and educational attainment at the small area level.

A founding member of IHME, Dr. Gakidou oversees the Organizational Development and Training team as they strengthen and support our high-achieving, diverse, and ambitious staff. She is passionate about training the next generation of leaders in the field of health metrics and evaluation both at the University of Washington and around the world, and enjoys mentoring and teaching.

Before joining IHME, Dr. Gakidou was a research associate at the Harvard Initiative for Global Health and the Institute for Quantitative Social Science. Prior to moving to Harvard University, Dr. Gakidou worked as a health economist at the World Health Organization (WHO), where she led work on the measurement of health inequalities.

Originally from Greece, Dr. Gakidou moved to the US for higher education and received her degrees – a BA, a Master of International Health Economics, and a PhD in Health Policy – from Harvard University.

IHME was established at the University of Washington in Seattle in 2007. Its mission is to improve health through better health evidence.

GBD 2017 Population and Fertility Collaborators. Population and fertility by age and sex for 195 countries and territories, 1950–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. The Lancet. 8 Nov 2018;392:1995-2051. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32278-5.

GBD 2017 DALYs and HALE Collaborators. Global, regional, and national disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for 359 diseases and injuries and healthy life expectancy (HALE) for 195 countries and territories, 1990–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. The Lancet. 8 Nov 2018;392:1859–922. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32335-3.

India State-level Disease Burden Initiative Collaborators. Nations within a nation: variations in epidemiological transition across the states of India, 1990–2016 in the Global Burden of Disease Study. The Lancet. 13 Nov 2017. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32804-0

GBD 2016 DALYs and HALE Collaborators. Global, regional, and national disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for 333 diseases and injuries and healthy life expectancy (HALE) for 195 countries and territories, 1990–2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016. The Lancet. 14 Sept 2017: 390;1260-344.

GBD 2015 Healthcare Access and Quality Collaborators. Healthcare Access and Quality Index based on mortality from causes amenable to personal healthcare in 195 countries and territories, 1990–2015: a novel analysis from the Global Burden of Disease 2015 study. The Lancet. 2017 May 18.

April 2, 2015

A major objective of many health systems worldwide is to ensure that all people obtain the high-quality health services they need without risk of financial hardship. Achieving this universal health coverage (UHC) requires reducing inequalities within countries as well as between countries. Within-country inequalities, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, has therefore become the focus of research. In a recent study published in BMC Medicine, Emmanuela Gakidou from the University of Washington, USA, and colleagues focus on maternal, neonatal, and child health (MNCH) interventions across 72 districts in Zambia. Using data collected over 20 years, they produce the first systematic assessment of trends in this area. Here Gakidou explains their findings and what the implications are, not only for Zambia but also for other sub-Saharan African countries.

April 2, 2015

Interventions for improving maternal and child health have resulted in significant national health gains in Zambia since 1990. However, these national gains mask substantial variations across districts and interventions. Emmanuela Gakidou discusses the findings of her study on this area published today in BMC Medicine.